Hollywood Nobody by
Lisa Samson

Reviewed by Darcie Gudger

"Samson's
writing is sharp, witty, and will appeal to just about anyone who peels
back the cover."

Where were books like this fifteen
years ago when I was a teen? Sweet Valley High and saccharine Christian
YA made my stomach lurch and my mind
long for characters I could relate to. Good thing I had an imaginary friend…

Teens of today, don’t
despair! Authors Melody Carlson, Jenny B. Jones and now Lisa Samson are
cranking out the books I only dreamed of
reading.

Hollywood Nobody opens with a blog entry by fifteen-year old Scotty Fitzgerald.
I fell in love with her the moment she went off on the evils of straightening
irons. Her wit and humor captivated me, pulling me deep into the bowels
of the Y. Oh, the Y is the RV in which she and her hippie-mother live.

Scotty and her mother, Charley, live a nomadic life, traveling from movie
set to movie set. Charley is a food designer, vegan and keeper of some
life-shattering secrets.

While on the set of a contemporary remake of The Great Gatsby, surrounded
by celebrity peers who seem to know what they want from life, Scotty begins
to question the meaning of her own existence. Looking for answers from
Charley only leads to more questions.

In the middle of a cast party,
a man on a motorcycle appears out of nowhere. In a panic, Charley forces
a mustard jar costume over Scotty’s head
whisking her away to an undisclosed location. All of a sudden Scotty realizes
her nomadic life isn’t about her mother’s movie career, rather
it’s about running away. But from who?

Samson’s writing is sharp,
witty, and will appeal to just about anyone who peels back the cover.
Intrigue builds as the word count increases
only to leave readers hanging at the end!

I’ve read some YA books where it’s obvious the author is a
40-something trying to create a teenage voice. Prose can feel forced and
tacky in such cases. Samson nails the way teens think. Her teen characters
are so believable, I wonder if she’s really a fourteen year old posing
as an adult!

Scotty isn’t just another pretty popular teen character standing
as the moral pillar of her entire school’s population. She’s
different. She’s insecure. Has questions the adults around her can’t
or aren’t willing to answer. Her life is far from normal. She is
someone most high school girls can relate to. Impact of a story is greatest
when readers see pieces of themselves in print.

Scotty isn’t a Christian. I like that. She isn’t sure what
she believes. She starts exploring issues of faith by befriending the parents
of one of the actors on the set. Hollywood Nobody held me captive all the
way through, and made me crazy when it ended. Lisa, if you’re reading
this, hurry up and get that next book out before I fire up my straightening
iron!

Darcie Gudger is a freelance writer currently working on a young adult novel
while trying to solve all the mysteries of motherhood with her adopted son, Kyle.
In her spare time, she coaches the 2A Colorado State Champion Sheridan High School
colorguard, judged equipment for the Rocky Mountain Colorguard Association and
sings for the Bear Valley church choir and worship team. An adventure-seeker
who lives and writes in the shadow of the Rocky mountains, Darcie loves hiking,
camping, cycling, photography and keeping her husband guessing. Visit Darcie
online at her blog, Joy in the
Litterbox.